Red Rain

They never went indoors when they could be in the pool.

A sudden feeling of dread made the back of his neck tingle. Too quiet. Too quiet. His legs felt heavy as lead as he started to jog toward the back.

Is something wrong back there?

What’s going on?

He was breathing hard by the time he reached the white picket fence. Still silent back there. “Hey-where is everybody?”

He pulled the gate. When it didn’t budge, he pushed it. He stumbled onto the deck and saw them immediately.

Oh my God.

Was that Ira? Yes. Ira flat on his back. Stretched out straight on the deck beside the pool. Daniel and Samuel on their knees, hovering over him, faces narrowed in concern.

Ira flat, his face pale white, head straight up, arms and legs so stiff at his sides. Not moving.

Not moving.

Ira. Not moving.

40

A few minutes earlier. Daniel pushed down on Ira’s head. The boy kept thrashing and squirming under the churning water, but weakly now.

“Be careful,” Samuel said, tugging his brother’s arm. “Don’t get carried away. You just want to scare him, Daniel. You don’t want to drown him, do you? Do you?”

Daniel’s eyes were wild and distant at the same time. Samuel always wondered what he was seeing at times like these. Samuel knew what he saw. An endless dark chasm stretching beyond them forever.

“Daniel, please-”

Daniel blinked, as if coming to consciousness. He lowered his hands around the struggling boy’s waist and, with a grunt, hoisted him out of the water.

Ira emerged coughing and choking, eyes wide, water rolling off him, legs still churning. Daniel held him high, allowed him to spew up a stream of water, cough and groan and sputter.

Behind them, Ethan shrieked at the top of his voice: “Are you okay? Is he okay? Is he okay? Ira?”

Samuel thought he could see the heartbeats in the boy’s bony white chest. Now Ira made hoarse vomiting sounds, dredging up only pool water.

Daniel held him up, his biceps round and hard, too developed for a twelve-year-old. But Samuel knew where his twin’s strength came from.

Ira’s hair was matted over his face like a clump of dark seaweed. His head was down, arms limp at his sides, legs finally still.

“Is he okay? Is he breathing? Is he going to be okay?”

Samuel gave Ethan a reassuring thumbs-up.

Ira grew quieter. His chest still heaved but the choking and vomiting had ceased. He raised his head slowly, groaning. He brushed the wet clump of hair off his eyes with one hand.

Daniel laughed. “You did it, laddy!” he cried exultantly.

Ira squinted at Daniel, struggling to focus. “Did it?” His voice a choked whisper.

“A minute-twenty!” Daniel declared. “You broke your old record. I knew you could do it!”

Ira just stared at him, his face vacant, obviously trying to decide Daniel’s intent. Did Daniel just try to drown him? Was he playing a vicious game? Or was he really trying to help Ira break his underwater record?

Daniel kept the grin on his face. “Way to go, lad. Next time, a minute and a half.” He lowered Ira gently into the water. Then he turned to Samuel. “Wasn’t that amazing?”

“Amazing,” Samuel echoed.

“But you forced him,” Ethan protested. “Didn’t you see he wanted to come up?”

“I knew he could break his record,” Daniel insisted.

“C-cold,” Ira stammered. “I’m. . getting out.” He started to paddle weakly toward the side, gliding as if in slow motion.

“Get him some more towels,” Daniel ordered Ethan. “Maybe a sweatshirt or something.”

Ethan splashed out of the pool. His bare feet thudded on the deck, leaving dark footprints as he disappeared into the house. As soon as he was gone, Daniel nodded to Samuel.

Samuel knew the routine.

Each taking an arm, they led Ira out of the pool. “Th-thanks,” Ira stuttered. The poor kid was shaking.

“Here. Lie down in the sun,” Daniel instructed in his most gentle voice. Like a harmless little boy, Samuel thought.

They helped Ira onto his back on the sun-hot deck boards. He stretched out flat, water running off him, still breathing hard, shuddering.

“Ssssh. Relax,” Daniel whispered. He turned expectantly to Samuel.

Time for me to go to work.

It was so funny, actually. Daniel was the angry one. The bold one. Face it-the evil twin. Daniel was the one who wanted to act. Daniel wanted to rule the pool or rule the school or rule the fools.

Samuel knew he was different. He was shy. He was peace-loving and calm. No, not kind or sweet or feeling. But calm, at least. Not eager.

So funny, since Sammy was Death Man.

Sammy was the killer-man. Sammy had the beam, the ray, the whatever-you-want-to-call-it. Sammy had the heat. The burn. The furnace. Go ahead-say it: the fire of Hell.

Yes, together on the island where the dead met the living, they stepped out of a blood rain. Yes, the blood was on their shoulders and in their hearts. The blood splashed at their feet and puddled all around them, ran down their faces and stained their skin as well as their clothes.

Like a nightmare. I know we are nightmares.

And the strange part: Daniel brought the anger. But Sammy brought the death.

Now Daniel eyed him eagerly. Samuel leaned over Ira, brought his face close to the shivering boy’s, and began to fire up his eyes.

Samuel’s eyes clicked as if someone had bumped a switch. And they began to light instantly. The white around the pupils darkened to pink, and then the pupils disappeared into the growing red glow.

Like the coiled burners on an electric stove, Samuel’s eyes reddened and the heat began to radiate. His eyes were bright fire now, hot neon, red and hypnotic.

So hypnotic, Ira made no attempt to move or look away.

“Easy,” Daniel warned, bumping Samuel’s arm. “Don’t burn him. Back off a bit. You’ll blind him. We don’t want to hurt him. We only want to open his mind. Easy. Easy. We don’t want Mum to see that he is changed.”

“Okay, boyo. I’m being careful,” Samuel whispered. “Hurry. Ethan will be back.” He could see the red-glare reflection of his eyes in Ira’s eyes. “I’m just holding him. Not burning him. Go ahead. Tell his brain who is boss.”

Samuel was always surprised that he couldn’t feel the heat. Burning embers. No. Burning lasers. His eyes radiated blistering heat. But he couldn’t feel a thing.

Daniel leaned over the prone figure. Ira was hypnotized in the red glow.

“Okay, bruvver, I helped you today,” Daniel said, eyes on the glass doors of the house, watching warily for Ethan’s return. “Now we will stick together, boyo. Stick together like bruvvers. Yes?”

Silence for a second. Samuel kept the light on Ira’s face. “Yes,” Ira answered. Robotlike. But he gave the correct answer.